Big Spood: Gender confirmed

Big Spood has finally gifted me with a molt, and with it I have been able to confirm the sex.

I have discussed sexing tarantulas on this blog several times here and here, so this was an easy spood to sex. In my most recent post about tarantula sexing, we looked at Incy Wincy's molt and concluded that he was a male. When his molt was flipped over, there was no sign of a pouch (known as a spermathecae) under his epigastric furrow. As a reminder, this was his molt - the circled area is where there would have been a pouch in which to store sperm for fertilisation, had he been a female:

As you can see, there's nothing there.

I had previously posted to social media asking for people a little bit more knowledgeable than myself to attempt to sex Big Spood from her underside. This is less accurate than molt sexing as the differences are much more subtle - it is all down to the angle and the shape of the epigastric furrow. This is the photograph that I submitted to the forums, and it was tentatively concluded that Big Spood was most likely a female:

Again, I had absolutely no idea myself from that photograph as I am a novice at the best of times with all things spidery. But when I examined the inside of Big Spood's molt, I had no choice but to conclude that Big Spood is indeed a female. The evidence was very clear, and staring me right in the face:

Right in the middle of her first set of book lungs, where the epigastric furrow would be, Big Spood most definitely has a spermathecae - you can clearly see the pouch itself which would be used to store sperm, and if you look really closely you can just about see the two tiny little "bunny ears" which would have connected the spermathecae to her oviducts. Here is that photo again with the relevant area circled:

This is excellent news in terms of Big Spood's longevity as a pet spider - female tarantulas live a lot longer than males in general. They mature slower, and once they are matured, they tend to live longer as well. Big Spood could potentially be with me for the next twenty years or so. Were she a male, then once she did reach maturity, she would likely stop eating as all of her energy would be put into the search for a breeding partner. Male tarantulas do tend to waste away once they reach maturity - and while it can take several years - and this is often distressing for keepers to see. This is why many keepers of male tarantulas will lend out their tarantulas for breeding, in exchange for money or some of the resulting slings. Something to eventually think about for Incy, but not for Big Spood. She may well outlive me at this rate!